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Travel FAQs · Updated October 2026
When to arrive, when to fly home, where you stay and what to expect at the border, for surgery in Tijuana or Cancún.
Surgery-day timing and pickup.
Arrive before 11:00 a.m. on the day of surgery. Your driver picks you up at San Diego International Airport, the Tijuana airport or an approved San Diego hotel, and takes you across the border.
How transportation works →You have two options:
If your San Diego hotel is within 15 miles of the airport, your driver picks you up in the lobby on the day of surgery. Pickup beyond 15 miles costs an extra $50.
San Diego hotels other patients have suggested:
Confirm current rates with the hotel, and check that its airport shuttle times work with your flight.
Yes, but be aware that:
Most patients fly into San Diego and let their driver handle the crossing.
Passport requirements →Yes. Renew hasn't had problems with the crossing. If the main crossing ever closed, there is another crossing about 20 minutes away.
Return flight times and extra nights.
| Your last night | Book your flight for |
|---|---|
| Included hotel night in Tijuana | 12:00 p.m. or later |
| Hospital (no hotel night) | 2:00 p.m. or later |
These times allow for:
For an earlier flight, stay in San Diego the night before it.
Yes. Most patients go home after the included 3 nights and prefer to recover in their own bed, but you can stay longer in Tijuana or San Diego.
Yes. About 85% of patients stay all 3 nights, but skipping the hotel is allowed. Book your return flight for 2:00 p.m. or later, because you're discharged mid-morning and still need to cross the border.
Where you stay after the hospital.
Real Inn Tijuana Zona Río, less than a mile from Renew's Tijuana office. Address: P.º de los Héroes 9902, Zona Urbana Río, 22010 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico.
Pickup, hotels and planning a longer stay.
Your driver picks you up and drops you off on your arrival and departure days, at any time, as long as you're in the Hotel Zone (Zona Hotelera). Drivers aren't legally permitted to pick up outside this area, so any hotel you book yourself must be in the Hotel Zone.
A passport book is required for Cancún.
Weight loss surgery in Cancún →Yes, 1 hotel night is included. Renew uses the Real Inn Cancún, on the lagoon side and closer to the hospital, and sometimes Beachscape, on the beach side. You can skip the included night and book your own hotel in the Hotel Zone.
Yes. Many patients make their surgery trip a vacation. Arriving early is encouraged. If you stay after surgery, remember that:
Illness screening, vaccines and travel safety.
No. Renew doesn't require a COVID-19 test or vaccine for patients or companions.
Anyone with signs of illness may be turned away or tested. Tell your coordinator right away if you or your companion has a fever, chills, a cough, a sore throat, or loss of taste or smell. Having surgery or anesthesia while sick with COVID-19 can be dangerous.
Renew doesn't require any vaccines for your trip. For travelers to Mexico, the CDC recommends:
Ask your doctor which vaccines are right for you, ideally a few weeks before you travel.
Source: CDC, Travelers' Health: Mexico. Checked October 2026.
Renew uses its own transportation, hospital and hotel network. A Renew driver takes you from pickup to the hospital, the hotel and back, so you don't have to find your own way around the city.
The U.S. State Department rates Baja California, where Tijuana is, at Level 3, "Reconsider travel". It places no extra travel restrictions on U.S. government employees in Tijuana. Read the current advisory before you travel.
Source: U.S. State Department, Mexico Travel Advisory, issued May 29, 2026. Checked October 2026.
Is Tijuana safe? →The application is free and takes a few minutes. No obligation.
